Bradley Cooper's new movie is based on life of huge British comedian – but can you work out who?

The Sun

02-05-2025

BRADLEY Cooper's latest film is inspired by a very unlikely standup comic.
The upcoming movie, Is This Thing On?, stars BoJack Horseman's Will Arnett as a newly-divorced man who falls into a career of stand-up while working as a pharmaceutical salesman.
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Hollywood star Bradley Cooper's new film is based on none other than John Bishop.
The Liverpudlian favourite got into comedy in 2000 after splitting with his wife Melanie after randomly wandering into a comedy club in Manchester.
The shock news was revealed on Richard Herring's Leicester Square Theatre Podcast when comedian Chloe Radcliffe – who plays a stand-up in the film – shared the surprising fact.
She said: " Bradley Cooper is directing a movie starring Will Arnett and Laura Dern. Their relationship goes south, they split up, and Will Arnett discovers stand-up comedy.
"It is based on the life of John Bishop. I promise you. I think Will and John sat next to each other at a dinner ten years ago and Will heard his story was like, 'That rules, I want to do that someday.
"So anyway that's the movie that I just wrapped on…"
She continued: "I'm playing the stand-up who like believes in him."
The Hangover star Bradley directs and stars as his best friend Alex, while Bishop serves as an executive producer on the film.
The impressive cast also includes Ciarán Hinds, former NFL star Peyton Manning, comedian Amy Sedaris and Will and Grace's Sean Hayes along with his husband, Scott Icenogle.
Bishop told Graham Norton previously: "So, I'd split up with my wife, it was a Monday night. I had the kids all weekend, and on a Monday I was just depressed, so I thought, 'I'll do something that you can do on your own.' And it was either a comedy club or lap dancing.
Iconic clip where Alan from Hangover unexpectedly acquires a random baby
"I was 34 coming on to 35 and I was just looking for something to do. I walked up to the door thinking it would be a full comedy club, and the guy on the door said to me, 'It's £4 to get in, but it's free if you put your name down.'
"For what?". He said, 'It's an open mic night.' And I genuinely didn't know what that meant.
"He said: 'That means you put your name down, and if your name gets called out, you get on stage.'
"And because I'd only been to two comedy clubs and it'd always been full, I thought, 'Well, there'll be 200 people. They'll never get to me.'
"And, you know, it was four pounds. I was going through a divorce. I thought, 'Well, that's four pounds she's not getting.'
"I put my name down, expecting never to be called out, and I walked in and there was seven people in the place, and five of them had put their name down.
"I got called out second. If I'd have been called out third, I might have already left. So I got called out second after a Geordie fella doing chicken impressions.
"Then he [compere Mick Ferry] called my name, and I walked on stage. I'd never been on a stage. I'd done sales presentations and stuff like that.
"I remember the lights in my eyes and saying something about the lights being bright, and then I thought, 'What am I doing here? This is just ridiculous.' Like, I'd never thought of doing this.
"Then I thought, 'Well, what's my choice? I'm going to go home to an empty house, not living with the woman I want to live with, not living with my kids. I'll just go home to a bottle of wine, and what have I got to lose? There's only seven people here and one of them thinks he's a chicken.'
"So I literally started talking. I said some half joke, and then I had nothing to say, I had no joke, so I just went, 'I'm getting divorced.' And I started talking about getting divorced.
"In comedy clubs, when your time's up, there's a red light that flashes, I didn't even know that. So I remember going, 'Oh, your light's broke,' and I just carried on talking.
"I was meant to do seven minutes but because there was no one there they let me carry on. I did about 25 minutes.
"When I walked off I remember Mick the compere and the fella who ran the place coming up to me and saying, 'Where have you been doing your stand-up?'"
"It's like counselling," admitted Bishop.
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